Letter: Simon Channing Williams

I was sad to learn of the death of Simon Channing Williams (Obituaries, 15 April). As a former full-time union official with ACTT (now Bectu), I met Simon many times in the 1980s. He was the most honest and straightforward film producer (and employer) I ever dealt with. I never had to put anything in writing with Simon - if we reached an agreement, I knew it would be honoured. This was also the case with his relationship with his artistes and crew members. They loved working with Simon and loved being involved in a Simon Channing Williams/Mike Leigh film. I never had one complaint from any unit member about Simon during all my years looking after the film production area of ACTT. Mike Leigh was absolutely right in everything he said about Simon in the 15 April obituary column. Simon was a great and lovable person and the film industry will be the poorer without him.Brian ShemmingsFordingbridge, Hampshire